Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine in Deadpool 3

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix

It’s really happening! A running joke from the Deadpool movies (and the whole meta-Deadpool story that is Ryan Reynolds’ real life) is about to become an actual reality, with Reynolds confirming that Hugh Jackman will be playing Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Snikt! Bub! Fastball special! Deadpool is going to say all of those things in the movie, and we’re going to cheer our little goddamn heads off.

Reynolds announced the news in a video that we were pretty sure was an Aviation Gin ad right up until it wasn’t, and while we’re still not totally convinced, Variety is also reporting on the news now—so it seems pretty legit. The premise of Reynolds’ video is that he had to miss Disney’s D23 event because he’s working hard on Deadpool 3, but in reality he has absolutely no ideas for what to do in the next movie… beyond asking Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine “one more time.” Cue “I Will Always Love Hugh,” a message that says “Coming Hughn,” and Wolverine claw marks slashing up the Deadpool logo.

This is the first tangible update we’ve had for Deadpool 3 in a while, though we previously heard that Hugh Jackman really wanted to do it, that Chris Hemsworth wanted to do it just to stick it to Hugh Jackman, that the movie will indeed be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that Disney probably isn’t going to ruin the movie, and that Free Guy’s Shawn Levy will direct it (though let’s hope that he doesn’t ruin the movie).

Also, hilarious “Coming Hughn” joke aside (we’re still laughing), the trailer also ended with an apparent confirmation that Deadpool 3 will be released on September 6, 2024. That’s a ways off, so there’s plenty of time to drink delicious Aviation Gin while you wait. Oh no, did this turn into an Aviation Gin ad after all? And if we know it’s an ad, does that mean we’ve broken the fourth wall like Deadpool? Are we actually Deadpool? Chimichangas?!